The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1887-10-29
Correspondence Baltimore County Union.
LETTER FROM WASHINGTON.
Interest in the Baltimore Election-A
Reception That Did Not take Place
Trouble in the Civil Service Com
mission-The Meeting of
CQnOraSs &Zc

WASHINGTON, d. c., October Goth, 1887.
Messrs. Editors &c eat interest is felt here to-
day in the election in Baltimore and the inquiry
of every Mary lander is how is the election going
AS early as two o'clock this afternoon struggling
Marylanders could be seen making their way to
the several newspaper Offices to inquire if any
news from the election yet. But these Maryland
ers were all Republicans and generally non-voters
at the city election for all the Democratic Mary
landers from the departments have gone over to
Baltimore to vote. The feeling here is that if the
Reformers carry the election in Baltimore to-day,
or make good Roadway in that direction, they and
the Republicans will carry the State in November.
Precedent is found in the sympathy felt here
we'll as throughout the country for the Reformers,
in the fact that just such corrupt political rings
have been broken up in New York, Philadelphia
and other Democratic and Republican cities by
the best people uniting to that end, regardless of
politics, and whether it elected the candidates of
the opposition party or not.
1t was proposed when President Cleveland re-
turned from his Western and Southern trip to
give him a reception, similar to the one just ex-
tended to Mr.. Alexander Shepherd, the erstwhle
greatly abused but now honored and acknowledged
benefactor of this city, but the project has been
dropped, either because all the enthusiasm expend-
ed itself in the other occasion or the managers
could not agree Certainly it is hoped that it was
not because Alexander Shepherd in these latter
days has become "greater man" than Mr. Cleve-
land.
There has always seemed to be more or less dis
agreement among the members of the Civil Service
Commission as to what civil service reform really
is, and whether its principles really mean reform,
and that ofice-hoders shall eschew politics or not,
and this same issue has come up again the last
week or so with the same result with Mr. Lyman
and Mr.. 0berly on the one side and Mr.. Egerton
on the other. 1t was thought when Mr.. Oberly
went on the Commission, he having been the
oh &c - Ctoto
tee, he would be an extreme partisan, but such
has not turned out to be the case. He seems to
have become imbued with the principles of the
reform and is trying to carry out those principles
in letter and spirit, and has Mr.. Lyman, the Re
publican of the Commission, as his alder, but Mr..
Egerton seems permeated with opposite princi-
pies, although the president of the Commission,
and to endeavor on all occasions to decide in OPP
position to the other commissioners and on the
side of extreme partisanism so far as the letter of
the law, stretched to its utmost latitude of liberal
ity in favor of such course, will allow. Consequent
ly there have been frequent disagreements in the
Commission, but Messrs. Lyman and Oberly stand
ing firm. The latest blowout in the Commission
has been caused by Commissioner Oberly being
invited as Democrat to address the Illinois State
Democratic Association of this District, composed
entirely of Democrats holding Federal office here
but instead of doing so, like good Democrat, he
wrote q letter to the association declaring that
such political associations, composed entirely of
ofice-hoders, were violation Of the civil service
law and should not exist. This raised the ire of
all the Democratic State Associations of the Dis
trict, including those of Maryland and Virginia,
against Mr.. Oberly. Mr.. Egerton was away but
when he returned he took sides against Mr.. ODER
ly and in favor of the existence of these partisan
associations. But now Mr.. Lyman has returned
and agrees as usual with Mr.. Oberly, which would
seem to settle the question: there are two against
one. But it would be interesting to know what
Mr.. Ceveland's views would be on all these ques-
lions raised and mooted in the Commission. He
has been silent on all of them and it is not known
whether he agrees with Messrs. Lyman and Ober-
ly, who believe in practicing the reform as well as
protesting it, or Mr.. Egerton, who apparently is
a partisan and don't believe in it at all.
In little moro than month Congress will
meet again and already many congressman,
those on special committees that were
to sit during the recess, have been visiting this
city. Invariably, if the newspaper men can get
hold of them, they are interviewed" with regard
to the "situation" and the condition and chances
of the two great leading political parties of the
country in the coming Presidential contest of 1885,
1t is quite frequent that Democrat will venture |
to say that his party will wn but it can be easily
seen that it is with many misgivings and disbe- |
lief, but on the other hand the Republicans seem
a unit that their party is united, harmonious, and
these are all the requisites for victory in the con-
test, and consequently are much holder in express
ing their confidence that their party will win
Senator Allison, when interviewed the other day
in Buffalo, expressed himself to this effect, and so
have all the others thus interviewed 1t is GER
tain that the tariff will cut figure again in the
coming Congress, and Judge Kelly, of Pennsylva-
mia, the great "high protectionist' in Congress,
the father of protective tariff" he is called in
an interview here Eecentlsnsa6 .Anri 'inu Uh
oco this session, which is concession to Mr..